Hydrogen Susceptibility of Nanostructured Bainitic Steels
M. J. Peet and T. Hojo
Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A, Vol 42 (2016), 718-725.
DOI: 10.1007/s11661-015-3221-9
Abstract
Nanostructured steels with an ultimate tensile strength of 1.6 GPa were produced with austenite content varying from 0–35 vol%. The effect on the mechanical properties were assessed after saturating the steel with hydrogen. Elongation was reduced to 2-5% and UTS to 65-70% of prior value. Thermal desorption measurements confirmed the higher solubility of hydrogen in the steel with higher austenite content. The level of hydrogen saturation was found to correlate to the total area of grain boundaries rather than to the volume fraction of retained austenite.